Helston town councillors were warned that sending staff on an expensive 'jolly' while refusing to fund events in the town, would not go down well with the public.

Councillors have recently cut back on the support they offer events in the town, including the Flora Day lunch, and cutting back on the civic hospitality budget.

However despite the suggestions of austerity, the council has decided to spend over £2,000 sending four members and the town clerk to a six hour conference in Cardiff. The bill will include an overnight stay.

The town's mayor John Boase and the deputy mayor-elect Mike Thomas both voted against spending the cash, with Mr Boase saying he and others were not happy with the cost.

Ex-mayor Naill Devenish said he had warned councillors, and in an uncannily accurate prophesy said he told them he could see the newspaper headline, “Town council spend £2,125 on jolly to Wales”.

In an email sent to councillors on February 29, Mr Devenish said: “Whilst I am very much in favour of member and staff training I do have severe reservations about this.

“I can hear the public questioning the mayor in question time, seeking justification for that level of spend, and the following newspaper reports.”

It had been pointed out that the conference was not formal training and that there were locally based alternatives at Truro College who offer a recognised Plymouth University Employment law and HR qualification for £400 which would be far more in depth than a seminar no matter the profile of the speakers.

Adding that the college also offer free sessions on HR Law update, business coaching and more, “which could be accessible to more of the council than those are able to afford the time to go away”, Mr Devenish said: “Those of us on the council who work are once again disadvantaged as the lion's share of the training budget is spent on those who can spare the time.

“In these austere times we must act accordingly and try and get the best value for our training spend. I think that this sends the wrong signal at this time “How can you justify spending nearly two thirds as much per councillor as was cut for spending on the Mayors Flora day lunch, justified to me because it is “immoral to have people eating at taxpayers' expense”. Yet we will pay a lot more for a group of councillors to stay at a hotel. The comparison will be made I am sure, and once more we will be portrayed as being inconsistent.”

Councillor Jonathan Radford Gaby, along with Richard Prior, Sue Swift and Keith Reynolds, three current members of the council's policy, finance and resources committee, will travel to the arbitration and conciliation conference at St David's Hotel and Spa.

However at least one of these councillors is attending despite not being voted onto the committee for the coming year, raising questions about whether the trip is a waste of taxpayers' cash.